[Lowfer] Analog VS SDR LF comparison

[Douglas D. Williams]

Upon further investigation, I have decided that the preamp somehow ceased
to be functional shortly after I started using it.

Probably the single active device, an NPN transistor, somehow gave up the
ghost shortly after I started testing.

Will get it repaired and back into service, then decide if I need any
additional gain.

My feelings at this time are probably not, or, at least, not 20 dB of gain.

Perhaps 6 to 10 dB of gain might be useful to overcome the 6 dB loss of the
splitter, or it might not be necessary at all.

Experimenting is half the fun of this hobby. :-)

-Doug



On Sat, Oct 13, 2012 at 4:00 PM, Douglas D. Williams <kb4oer at gmail.com>wrote:

> After several hours of experimenting, I have decided that my current
> receive system needs no additional gain.
>
> In fact, increased gain is introducing spurious signals into my receive
> chain.
>
> Like Jay pointed out to me, if I can hear band noise with my current
> system, no more gain is needed.
>
> "Nuff said" about that.
>
> I hope to use the preamp to experiment with a tuned ferrite loop this
> season.
>
> More experimentation is needed on my end, IMO, regarding the signal to
> noise ratio in relation to active antenna base height.
>
> Currently, I have my active antenna base height at 20' above ground level
> (on top of a hill).
>
> Once my "jungle" property is cleared (hopefully this month) we shall see
> if that produces a better signal to noise ratio. If not, I am prepared to
> increase the height of the base of the active antenna to 30' or more, even
> though that greatly increases my worries about direct lightning strikes.
>
> Doug - KB4OER
>
>